Ariadne: Web Magazine for Information Professionals

Publication Profiles > LIS Professional and Trade Publications > Ariadne: Web Magazine for Information Professionals

Publication analysis


About the publication

Title: Ariadne: Web Magazine for Information Professionals

ISSN: 1361-32001

Purpose, objective, or mission: Ariadne is published by Loughborough University Library in the U.K. for Information Professionals to stay abreast of a wide variety of LIS topics. Initially, Ariadne was made available in electronic format by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC), in order “to create awareness of Internet developments in the UK higher education LIS community”. 2 Website: http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/

Target audience: The target audience for Ariadne is librarians, museum curators, archivists and associated technical staff & managers. Articles should cover topics that will be of interest to one or more of these audiences. 3

Publisher: Loughborough University Library in the U.K. 4

Peer reviewed? No. The editor makes all decisions regarding manuscript submissions.5

Type: LIS professional news. Although Ariadne does publish some research-oriented content, it is not peer reviewed and it cannot be considered “scholarly.” ISSN is 1361-3200.6

Medium: Entirely online. Ariadne is free and open access, so the full text of all issues (current and archived) is available on the website. 7

Content: Ariadne publishes a variety of articles on current trends and issues in the LIS field. A standard issue contains an editorial, a number of articles including a feature article, news, and events. Prominent topics include emerging technologies and trends, digital libraries and collections, information architecture, search engines, metadata, and conference information. 8

Frequency of publication: Undefined. The magazine was published quarterly up through 2010; as of 2013 there are two issues per year. 9

About the publication’s submission guidelines

Location of submission guidelines: Submission guidelines can be found on the Guidelines page. The publication’s website indicates to submit proposals the editor who will then correspond via email once an article proposal has been accepted. 10

Types of contributions accepted: Ariadne accepts a variety of contributions, including articles (i.e., scholarly papers, position pieces, and case studies), reviews, and reports on events, workshops, meetings, and conferences. The magazine also accepts proposals regarding organizations and work-related projects. There are no stated requirements for length.11

Submission and review process: Ariadne requires an initial proposal for all articles. Authors should submit an abstract, outline, or general description to the editor prior to submission of the completed manuscript. After an agreement is reached, a date for submission is set and the editor then sends out an explanation of the editorial process. No peer-review process is used.12

Proposals can be submitted through an email to the editor: editor@ariadne.ac.uk.13

Editorial tone: There are no stated guidelines for editorial tone. Main articles tend to have a more formal, scholarly tone, while reviews and other articles appear to be relatively informal (i.e., first person is acceptable).14

Style guide used: Ariadne does not use a formal style guide.

Conclusion: Evaluation of publication’s potential for LIS authors

Ariadne has remained on the forefront of the open access movement and continues to focus its content on current and emerging LIS trends and technologies. Thus, although it is not peer reviewed, it is a credible and highly accessible source with great publishing potential for LIS practitioners, educators, and students. Contributors might consider writing about LIS conferences or workshops, workplace technologies, online learning, digital collections, social networking, Web 2.0./Library 2.0, or Web-based information seeking behavior.

 

Audience analysis


About the publication’s readers

Publication circulation: Ariadne is an open access electronic publication that is available free to anyone with Internet access. As such, there is no formal subscription process and no readily available circulation data. Generally, though, freely accessible online resources do at least have the potential of a large audience base.15

Audience location and language or cultural considerations: Although Ariadne maintains an international audience, the majority of readers are located in the U.S. and U.K., and content reflects this. 16

Ariadne is published solely in English, and based on geographic information, it can be assumed that the vast majority of readers are, in fact, native English speakers. However, authors should be aware of the linguistic and cultural differences that exist between the U.S. and British English. For example, submission guidelines indicate that “British English” should be used rather than “US English.” 17

Reader characteristics: Ariadne does not provide any detailed demographic information relating to the gender, age, or ethnicity of its readers. Because this is an international professional publication geared towards practicing information professionals, it is likely that the audience is relatively mature and experienced, but also demographically diverse. Although readers are likely to hold a wide variety of professional specializations, they are also very likely to share professional interests based on Ariadne‘s primary topics, which include digital libraries, technological developments, digital information management, and online learning. As a large portion of Ariadne readers work in libraries and archives, they are likely to be both interested in and sympathetic to library issues. They are also likely to share common values and beliefs about the role and importance of librarianship in an information society. It should be noted that Ariadne also features more opinion-based reader reviews, retrospectives, and reflections.18

Knowledge of LIS subject matter: Ariadne readers are likely to be quite knowledgeable about LIS subject matter and jargon. As practicing information professionals, they would certainly be interested in library topics that are directly applicable to their careers. Read through the archived issues to get a sense of the current topics. 19

Conclusion: Analysis of reader characteristics and their potential impact on authors

Ariadne is a professional publication with a very specific focus on practical articles that discuss sophisticated technological issues and developments in LIS. Overly general library articles, theoretical papers, or pieces that fail to directly address current trends in librarianship with a heavy focus on digital initiatives may not interest Ariadne readers. Submissions should be professional but not necessarily scholarly in tone, and they should focus on relating practical applications for LIS practitioners (see topic suggestions in the Publication Analysis above).

It is important for the author to note that although Ariadne is a British publication with a core following in the UK, the majority of readers actually reside in the U.S., and it is a global magazine. This allows for increased opportunities to effectively reach Ariadne readers.

Last Updated: March 8, 2020


References

 

Show 19 footnotes

  1.  Ariadne: Web Magazine for Information Professionals, Loughborough University Library, accessed March 8, 2020, http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/
  2. Loughborough University Library. (2020) Ariadne: Web Magazine for Information Professionals. Retrieved from http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/about/copyright
  3. Loughborough University Library. (2020) Ariadne: Web Magazine for Information Professionals. Retrieved from http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/guidelines
  4. Loughborough University Library. (2020) Ariadne: Web Magazine for Information Professionals. Retrieved from http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/about/copyright
  5. Loughborough University Library. (2020) Ariadne: Web Magazine for Information Professionals. Retrieved from http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/guidelines
  6. Loughborough University Library. (2020) Ariadne: Web Magazine for Information Professionals. Retrieved from http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/guidelines 
  7. ProQuest. (2016). Ariadne(Online). Urichsweb Global Serials Directory. Retrieved from http://ulrichsweb.serialssolutions.com.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/title/1410383864655/259370
  8. Loughborough University Library. (2020) Ariadne: Web Magazine for Information Professionals. Retrieved from http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/guidelines
  9. Loughborough University Library. (2020) Ariadne: Web Magazine for Information Professionals. Retrieved from http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/guidelines
  10. Loughborough University Library. (2020) Ariadne: Web Magazine for Information Professionals. Retrieved from http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/guidelines
  11. Loughborough University Library. (2020) Ariadne: Web Magazine for Information Professionals. Retrieved from http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/guidelines
  12. Loughborough University Library. (2020) Ariadne: Web Magazine for Information Professionals. Retrieved from http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/guidelines
  13. Loughborough University Library. (2020) Ariadne: Web Magazine for Information Professionals. Retrieved from http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/guidelines
  14. Loughborough University Library. (2020) Ariadne: Web Magazine for Information Professionals. Retrieved from http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/guidelines
  15. ProQuest. (2016). Ariadne(Online). Urichsweb Global Serials Directory. Retrieved from http://ulrichsweb.serialssolutions.com.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/title/1410383864655/259370
  16. Loughborough University Library. (2020) Ariadne: Web Magazine for Information Professionals. Retrieved from http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue
  17. Loughborough University Library. (2020) Ariadne: Web Magazine for Information Professionals. Retrieved from http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/guidelines
  18. Loughborough University Library. (2020) Ariadne: Web Magazine for Information Professionals. Retrieved from http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue
  19. Loughborough University Library. (2020) Ariadne: Web Magazine for Information Professionals. Retrieved from http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue
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